wandering
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Posts posted by wandering
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It’s worth pointing out that not even 60 years ago—in my parents’ lifetime, in my lesbian aunts’ lifetime, maybe even in some of your lifetimes—heterosexuals put laws in place that would make me illegal. I could be punished, beaten and imprisoned. That isn’t ancient history. This still happens in some parts of the world. The reverberation of this regressive practice is still felt by people like me. It was your heterosexual police force who would entrap us like we were wild savages, they would raid our gathering spots, unable to leave us alone, veritably foaming at the mouth to oppress and subjugate. They would pretend to be like us so they could hurt us. Alan Turing helped Britain to win the Second World War and his reward from the heterosexual majority was castration. Truly and utterly shameful. It was this society where even popular homosexuals feared being themselves. Kenneth Williams, who the British public adored for his role in the Carry On films and Just a Minute, could never feel truly comfortable with himself because of the society he was born in, despite the deep public adoration for him and his talent. I posit his profound self-loathing was created by a society that hated who he really was and loved his created persona on stage and film. When we are told to just integrate, I dare say why don’t you lot make a society that is welcoming and caring for people like me so that this so-called integration is possible? Why is it incumbent upon me to do that? You create laws to criminalise me, you castrate me, you threaten and hurt me. What are you doing to help me integrate? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
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The dominant group will always feel victimised by minorities doing things that don’t include them. Being pro gay isn’t anti straight. Just like being pro Black isn’t anti white. They feel left out. I call this a taste of their own medicine. A group of gays is seen as a slight to them in some way hence the need to say “why can’t you just do what the rest of us do” (aka conform and submit). We aren’t the rest of you. It is types like this who make us make a point of our differences. I recall once someone saying to me, as though I should take it as a compliment that “you’re not really super gay” as though being gay were a bad thing. I’d be happy never to mention who I sleep with or what I do behind closed doors ever again. I agree, I don’t think we are special. I have heterosexual friends and mix with them and never does who we sleep with come up in discussion (probably how many heterosexuals prefer it). But they understand and empathise with why I need to find others who are gay. Because guess what? Most people aren’t. I could misinterpret a situation with a man and end up in hospital or worse, dead. Attacks on gays are on the rise. I don’t attend Pride or get involved in the politics of the LGBT. But I don’t, continually, proclaim my lack of understanding of such things as though it contributes any value to the discussion which is being done in this very thread. Calls of “I don’t understand X, Y or Z” just highlights your ignorance. It is 2023. You have all the information at your finger tips. How about we drop the “I don’t understand why they congregate” façade and say what you really mean?
Gays want to meet other gays and have sex, surprise surprise. Clutch your pearls elsewhere. It’s so bloody tiring.
I hope OP does find other boat folk who are gay and gets a chance to connect with them. I know I’ve thought about it on my travels as a solo gay vagabond boater. Seeing a rainbow flag sticker in a boat window makes me relaxed because it signals to me they’re my sort. I know this may be novel to other people who dONt UnDeRstANd but it’s small gestures and signs like this that make me feel comfortable in a world that wants to shut me up, hide me away or, worse, blend in.
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4 hours ago, Nightwatch said:If you’re gay or not gay, just do your own thing. I can’t understand why gay orientated people have to congregate. Surely mixing with ‘all walks of life’ is educational at some level.
He is trying to do 'his own thing' by finding others like him? Why is "doing your own thing" basically code for "be just like the rest of us"? The subtle intolerance of Brits never ceases to impress me. The veneer of friendliness falls away with barely as much as a bump. You can't understand because presumably you're not gay. That's OK. Gay people look for other gays because we're a minority and not everything has to be understood by you (frankly, I find a lot of heterosexual behaviour downright bizarre and will never understand it myself but each to their own) and that's also OK. No help mixing with 'all walks of life' if none of them want to have a relationship with you. Seeking out other gay men increases the likelihood of that happening. Why do you think gay bars and the like exist? The man is asking if there are other gays around the north, not segregating himself like some homosexual shut in.
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49 minutes ago, M_JG said:
No not normal at all.
The water level should not be greater that the top of the hatch.
There is something wrong with the design or the trim of the boat, or both.
Or do you mean water drawn up with the hatch bottom plate? In which case you should let it drain by tilting it before fully withdrawing it.
Yeah think that might have been it in hindsight 😅
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When I have opened the weed hatch in the past, a flood of water has come in which I’ve got rid of with the pump. I assumed this behaviour was typical of an opening so close to the water but I still don’t know for certain this was the cause anyway. Maybe in between checking and setting off, which must have been ten minutes, something happened/developed en route.
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40 minutes ago, MtB said:
Seconded. Although the OP saw water streaming in through the weed hatch once the boat was beyond saving from sinking, there is nothing so far to indicate this was the original cause of water entering the boat.
It had after all, been fine up until that point cruising about (presumably) without sinking so I find myself wondering why the bad weed hatch seal suddenly became a problem when for ages, it hadn't been. So I conclude something changed, so possibly else went wrong and remains unnoticed so far.
Aye, I'm eagerly awaiting the surveyor report. You're right that it had been fine and I had nearly completed a full return journey from Leicester to Lincoln until it sank on the journey home, as if by random. Until I get the report back and have a proper inspection, it's all speculation that is was the weed hatch that failed.
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17 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
It really doesn't look too bad. Time and elbow grease and a little money and it'll be as good as it ever was.
You will have to accept that there will be an 'earthy / muddy' smell for many months, but, it does go.
One thing the sinking has shown is that your battery box was not up to scratch - it looks as if the battery has fallen onto the engine.
I hope so! I think the shock I'm feeling is just seeing the inside look like that as I normally keep it very clean and tidy. I wasn't expecting things to be so muddy. Wet, yes, but the mud adds a new dimension to the shock plus I think there's a film of oil over everything too...
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8 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:
I may look like a disaster but I have seen much worse brought back to life.
Much better than a fire.
Recovered several sinking boat over the years.
The engine and gearbox will be fine. Do not turn it over at all. The sump may be full of water but the oil will have risen up the bores and they will be fine.
Wash the mud off everything, electrics, alternator, starter, etc. and pump out the bilge.
Then drain all the oils and fuel from the engine and gearbox. Check the fuel tank, pump out the bottom if there is any water in there.
Fill with fresh cheapest oils and let it all dry out before turning it over by hand. You may find it locks up hydraulically. If so tighten all the exhaust tappets A LITTLE BIT so that the valves are only just not closing, this will let the oil out of the bores. Keep turning by hand until the starter will spin it.
Set the tappets. Bleed it and fire it up. Run it for a few hours. ( consider that the batteries will be likely OK but keep an eye on them to see if they are charging normally. ) Change the oils if they are milky otherwise run it for longer.
Is this something a competent engineer could do for me? I don't want to mess up anything but since I'm not super au fait with engines (except the usual popping in oil and coolant). It sounds pretty straightforward but reading a map is pretty simple and I still end up very lost...
1 minute ago, peterboat said:Just one question was the engine running when it sank? If it was it will not have survived, water doesn't compress and it will have sucked it in
No I had turned it off way before then and shoved a cloth in the exhaust outlet.
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Thought I'd share some pics here of the boat after being refloated:
1. https://ibb.co/vJq4rqj
2. https://ibb.co/bX2Y8SS
3. https://ibb.co/yqw9LVg
4. https://ibb.co/b6TrcVQ
5. https://ibb.co/7yTcWzL
6. https://ibb.co/QKqp4yz3 minutes ago, David Mack said:Why do you need to gut it? I would take out everything removable, including things like appliances, drawers and liftable floor panels, then just hose down the inside and pumping out from the bilges. Do this a few times to get rid of the mud, and then let it dry out - maybe use a dehumidifier to speed the process, and you may well find most of the fitout has survived.
Soft furnishings too may survive with professional cleaning. Your engine is almost certainly recoverable, the gas system is probably fine as it is.
A few days underwater does not mean you are starting from scratch.
I suppose from seeing it, understanding my own limitations re: handy work and not really knowing how big the job in front of me is. I just assumed getting it all out and starting a fresh might be the easier thing to do, especially if I can give a labourer a "fresh canvas". But I don't know much! This is my first time dealing with something like this.
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30 minutes ago, MtB said:
One word of advice. Get it back in the water ASAP and before you start the work of gutting it. Work on the interior of a boat on the hard standing takes twice as long as in the water. The Constant climbing in and out of the boat up and down a ladder is an utter ball-ache compared to just stepping out onto the mooring pontoon.
Ohh, OK! That is a good piece of advice. Didn't know that. I was told they will take it out and it can be on hard standing for a while but if she floats then you make a good point about it the ladders. I assume they imagined she needed to be on hard standing in case there was a hull issue (which I don't believe there is. She was only surveyed 7 months ago and I was told she is in very good nick for her age. I wonder if the marina will allow me to work on her from the water rather than hard standing...
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9 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Glad the news is looking positive - if you get your £27k back and can buy it for scrap value (say) £5k-£7k you have £20k left to spend on getting it back into being liveable.
Priority is to get the engine flushed properly, and then running properly. The longer you leave it (particularly is it is now out of the water) the easier it will be. It is actually better to leave it submerged but I'm guessing you don't have any say in the matter.
You can then start stripping out ruined soft furnishings, and getting the electics and gas looked at by a 'suitable person'.
If the sinking was caused by a 'no cost' fixable (like the weed hatch cover) then I'd say you could get a pretty reasonable result with your £20k.
If, there is a serious (expensive) hull repair needed I'd very carefully consider how to move forward.
Good luck.
Judging from what I had seen everything looked the same as it was before it sank except this time water wasn’t pouring in from the weed hatch. Granted there was some water damage to the floorboards (which now have holes in), walls and other things (like the fridge, the fuse box looked like it had sort of exploded). Engine was all mucky and oily. Anyone know what a newer engine might cost or getting a second hand one in a decent condition? May be worth replacing my old BMC for something newer?
On Monday they’ll take the boat fully out of the water and pop it on hard standing. I’ll reach out to their team once the insurer have got back to me to prioritise the engine. I’ve already asked the businesses based around Redhill if there are any fitters around so I can fish for quotes re fixing it out and some kind strangers (including painter and decorator and a carpenter) have offered their expertise and help too.
I can do the messy work of gutting it as it’ll be on hard standing for a month before I have to start paying the Marina for the pleasure. So any labourers will have a blank canvas to work on. I’m glad she is only 39ft as that makes things a bit better from a cost perspective.
I’ll keep all you updated on how things progress.
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7 minutes ago, peterboat said:
I have seen craftinsure raise 2 boats both were written off and both were bought back. They were quick and good in both cases, it's why I am insured with them
My boat appears to be floating again but the insides are a big, dirty mess. Craftinsure said it's likely to be written off but they're awaiting the surveyor report. They also said I can make an offer to buy the boat back before they sell it as scrap. Hope if I can buy it back I can gut it myself and have enough money to pay someone to make it livable again...
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can I come over for tea, love risotto and egg fried rice
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I am with craftinsure and I paid £209.23. I'm in the process of my first ever claim so will tell you soon whether it's worth it or not.
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14 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:
Having read this thread I realised that I had not read my Craftinsure policy document since I declared the increased boat value 3 years ago.
It clearly says that they will pay the agreed price (which is more than twice what I paid for the boat) in the event of a total loss or constructional total loss or replace the boat with one of similar age, size, type and condition.
I can sleep easier now.
Perhaps the OP should read his document?
Mine says the same !
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Aye, the insinuation that swearing is the reserve of the uneducated or proof of a limited vocabulary is a kind of snobbery I can’t abide !
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19 minutes ago, LadyG said:
I don't agree, I'm a Scot and have never heard people say that word in conversation. The Irish are well known for swearing but just in conversation, not in anger.
Maybe we move in different circles lol
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1 minute ago, BoatinglifeupNorth said:
Hopefully the boatyard will be named, as to stop any guessing and maybe incriminate the wrong yard, but more importantly, to stop it happening again to someone who may be more vulnerable and who may not be able to handle the situation mentally and emotionally.
Agreed! I've had some trouble with boatyards in the past, with them fleecing me as a newbie, so if there is another one out there up to these awful shenanigans, I would want to know!
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10 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:Interested, with your possessions all in the river, unfortunately, how are you coping with posting on the forum?
Do you mean how am I posting literally or emotionally? I had an old laptop stored at my parent's house (where I've taken refuge on their sofa) and my phone was in my pocket when I abandoned the boat. Newer laptop and iPad still on the boat (and probably very dead by now). As for emotionally, the forum is a nice distraction.
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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:
I got told off recently for using the word tw@t in a post when referring to a TV presenter
It is a slang term for a woman's sexual organ and used in the same context as the C word
Yeah, I don't advocate using these words, they're not very nice imo but in Scotland people use the c word far and wide with ease.
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31 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
Does it have a screw-down ?
My hatch has a bar with two holes at each side to screw it down tightly. I'd previously opened and closed it before without any issue or leaks. I think the one starboard side came loose owing to the vibrations of the boat (just an assumption) ! It was fine when I checked it before setting off and then it suddenly wasn't fine. Not sure when happened... I didn't get the best look either as the engine bay was filling with water quite quickly.
35 minutes ago, LadyG said:OP should say nothing about it.
Deny responsibility.
We don't know if the point has been raised, it's speculation.
Obviously OP is not culpable, the insurance company may speculate, but most likely they will pay out.
I'm praying they do! I'll definitely deny all responsibility. Thursday's gonna be an intense morning...
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The C word is a term of endearment where I'm from... 😂
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4 minutes ago, magnetman said:
I never understood the point of a. 'ignore' feature on a forum. It doesn't make sense. The whole idea is you have a group of people 'interacting' on an internet based 'platform' and everyone has the right to say what they think.
I've never used ignore and never will. If someone is annoying you can just see their user name and not read the content if you want to.
You don't need a machine to do this basic task. Giving over to the machines in this way leads to negative outcomes.
Don't use automated ignore do it yourself.
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxvDJg8lM9TZ2bpVhcthKGrWGpTxiE06Dx?si=3TdAyr_Gkr-FcVAd
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30 minutes ago, Troyboy said:
I hope I am wrong but using a boat with a weed hatch that has no gasket and is loose might be seen by insurers as the owner being somewhat negligent. You are about to find out how good your insurers are , hopefully they won't try and wriggle out of paying .
Christ if I end up with nothing I’ll truly be lost. Let’s hope they can help me.
Gay community
in New to Boating?
Posted
Carried away with what? I’m just stating the truth of what happens. Perhaps you dislike it because it reveals something about yourself and your kind but to characterise what I am saying as though I am getting carried away with myself is disingenuous. I’m perfectly calm and reasonable. Next time, say what you mean clearly to avoid misinterpretation. I agree that your comment is laced with hostility and now you’re back tracking and saying I am getting carried away with myself. I see what you’re doing. Get a grip. You’ve revealed yourself to me. You’re not the arbiter of other people’s enlightenment either. Don’t act so bold.